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Dear Colleagues,
The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) Local Superintendents Advisory Council (LSAC) will be meeting tomorrow, Nov. 28, at 9:30 a.m. ET. One of the big discussion items will be about portraits of a learner.
A portrait of a learner is an agreed-upon set of aspirations for what every learner will know and be able to do when they leave school. In today's rapidly changing world, it is crucial for students to develop not only a strong foundation of academic knowledge, but also the skills and dispositions that will enable them to thrive in a complex and ever-evolving global landscape. Many Kentucky school districts already have adopted local portraits, which you can see on KDE’s Current District Portrait of a Learner webpage.
Originally, LSAC was planning to discuss possible changes to Kentucky’s graduation requirements to include student demonstrations of learning as a tool to see whether students had met those knowledge, skills and mindsets that our local communities agree they need to be successful adults. But for now, we want to have more discussions on current implementation efforts around portraits of a learner and how this work can tie into our desire for all Kentucky students to have the kind of deeper, more engaging learning experiences that we talk about in United We Learn.
If you would like to learn more before the meeting tomorrow, please see this FAQ about portraits of a learner and here is a guidance document about how you go about creating your own local portrait of a learner.
I do believe that student demonstrations of learning have the potential to provide a more meaningful and equitable approach to measuring student achievement and readiness for the future. I look forward to discussing this with LSAC on Tuesday and continuing the conversation with you all in the future.
As usual, you can watch the LSAC meeting on the KDE Media Portal.
Sincerely,
Robin Fields Kinney
Interim Commissioner of Education
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Nationwide Opioid School District Class Action Lawsuit - Notice of Proposed Settlement
A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit brought by several public school districts across the country (including in Kentucky) against the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Inc. and three related companies, McKinsey Holdings, Inc.; McKinsey & Company, Inc., United States; and McKinsey & Company, Inc., D.C.
Jefferson, Martin, Estill, Larue, Breathitt, Fayette and Bullitt County public schools in Kentucky served as class representatives in the class action lawsuit In re McKinsey & Co. Inc., National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation pending in federal court in the Northern District of California.
Under the proposed settlement, the McKinsey companies will deposit $23 million into a Public School District Opioid Recovery Trust, which will also hold and distribute funds from other settlements and resolutions that school districts have reached with other opioid industry defendants. This school district trust will make grants to school districts for projects to abate and mitigate the effects of the opioid crisis in public schools. The trust will invite funding proposals from public school districts nationwide.
Unless your school district opts out of the settlement, every Kentucky public school district will be included in this settlement. If your school district does not wish to be included in the settlement, or wishes to object to the settlement, it must do so by Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. If your school district does not opt out and remains part of the settlement, your district may submit a request and proposal for funding to the Public School District Opioid Recovery Trust. Please carefully review the Notice of Proposed Settlement and contact your board counsel with any legal questions.
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